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Ceinwen Langley

Autor von The Edge of the Woods

2 Werke 53 Mitglieder 5 Rezensionen

Werke von Ceinwen Langley

The Edge of the Woods (2014) 34 Exemplare

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Geschlecht
female
Nationalität
Australia

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Very much in the same genre as Robin McKinley. The protagonist is engaging and the escape-from-restrictions plot works well. The closing in of said restrictions is convincingly nightmarish.

That said, it has some gaps. The enforced companionship of the Belle et Bête plot is rather artificial here. There is no strong reason for the protagonist to stay. The Gaston character isn’t very well realised. His final decision to leave doesn’t make a lot of sense. I think the author needed to give him some more motivations here. And the villain is too villainous. Yes she hates the father. But she’s knowingly harming the protagonist for no particular reason and it’s unconvincing.

And the big gap: when did they fall in love? Because I see no sign of attraction developing. It feels more like “Two lesbians! = Love!”

Being female and attracted to women doesn’t result in automatic attraction.

And Belle et Bête is all about the person’s body not being the site of attraction. It’s a profoundly pan or bi setting in some ways.

And finally, the tragedies are not acknowledged or resolved. The beast did nothing to become a beast and learnt nothing from it. She’s just a hot butch who dates whatever pretty girl she is close to. Her previous lover is lost to time with no resolution. Her child/owl companion dies, but there is no real loss. And what happened to the other people? The owl was immortal; did literally none of them survive?

This feels like it could have been better.

However, reading it was a really fun afternoon. Cosy and reminded me of many of my favourite works.
… (mehr)
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mairesmith | 1 weitere Rezension | Mar 18, 2023 |
Similar in subject and feeling to Frances Hardinge's The Lie Tree, but lighter and less fraught, with the addition of queer themes and romance elements. A retelling of Beauty and The Beast that makes the Gaston character actually pretty nice? Unthinkable!
 
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bibliovermis | 1 weitere Rezension | Jul 20, 2021 |
I received the book The Edge of the Woods by Ceinwen Langley, through Library Thing.
This was a delightful story to read, not because it was light hearted, but because I loved the way the author keeps you hoping throughout the story. I loved the ending, it was perfect.

To me this is story of a young girl coming of age and battling all the demons that go with it. Some of her demons are real and some are the same that I and every young girl growing up has had to face. In the beginning Emma’s’ journey seems hopeless, there are so many things going against her. At times I think she is just going to give up, but then I remember that there really is something at the Edge of the Woods and I turn on, and read more. Then something else , just like in life , will pop up and try to stop her again…and again she will push on.

This book is comparable to life in that you have good vs evil, right and wrong, societies rules and regulations and incompetent people to push them down your throat against your will. The people in this book have an awakening, not just Emma, but a whole village. It’s very hard to tell you more without giving away the best parts of the story.

In my humble but educated opinion, this story is a must read. If you are a man or a woman aged 8 to 80, I think you will find something to identify with. I know you will enjoy the journey, just as I did.
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juliehall2015 | 2 weitere Rezensionen | Jun 15, 2015 |
This story is about a girl who lives in a small village that does not accept outsiders well. The village has some very strict rules that are adhered to almost too well. With heavy overtures of a religious nature the village follows the lord’s book. As soon as a girl comes of age she is to be married as quickly as possible to whoever is willing to court her. The marriages are not made up by love but by need. One of the girls who is about to come of age is Emma, her father passed when she was very young, leaving her mother a widow and what the village called an “unmarried”. The unmarried where frowned upon and treated as dirt beneath everyone else’s feet. Emma just happened to be a very strong minded and high spirited person but has had dreams of the forbidden forest since she was 5. Emma and her mother live on the edge of the forbidden forest and she is tempted to go in many times but fear holds her back. The stories that have been told and the disappearances of females both young and older were enough to keep the village far from the woods. Emma becomes very confused and stressed out as her coming of age is closing in and the dreams are becoming all too real. When one of the younger girls in the village disappears Emma has to make a life changing decision, that will turn the village beside itself and when one change comes so do all the others. Great read but does get a bit odd well worth the read though.… (mehr)
 
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lcsdr60 | 2 weitere Rezensionen | May 16, 2015 |

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Werke
2
Mitglieder
53
Beliebtheit
#303,173
Bewertung
3.9
Rezensionen
5
ISBNs
7

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